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Dear Annie: When a friend’s ‘help’ feels like a put-down

Columns

Dear Annie: I’m having a problem that feels small, but it’s starting to make me dread seeing someone I care about. One of my closest friends has gotten into the habit of “correcting” me in public. If I tell a story, she interrupts to adjust a detail. If I mention a restaurant, she jumps in with the exact neighborhood and the chef’s name. If I pronounce a word slightly wrong, she repeats it back the right way with a smile that’s supposed to be playful. At first, I brushed it off. She’s smart and she has always been a little particular. But lately, it feels constant, and ...

No low too low: A president gloats about a patriot’s passing

Columns

In 1968, Robert Mueller, poised to graduate from Princeton University, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, hoping to serve his country in the Vietnam War, which was then raging. It was the year that American troops would sustain their peak number of combat deaths, nearly 17,000. A son of privilege, a star athlete, Mueller was inspired by a fellow student who had died for his country. “We lost a very good friend of mine, a Marine in Vietnam, who was a year ahead of me at Princeton,” Mueller recalled decades later, asking about how he came to enlist in Vietnam. “There were a number ...

At-home kits aren’t intended for people with Lynch syndrome

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: Why didn’t you recommend one of the at-home kits for the person with Lynch syndrome who had a bad reaction during her colonoscopy? I don’t ever intend to have another colonoscopy. It is invasive, the prep is too much (yes, I understand why), and it takes up 24 hours of your time. — A.T. ANSWER: Lynch syndrome, also called hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer syndrome, is a condition that is caused by a genetic mutation in a DNA mismatch repair gene. Without this mismatch repair system, some cancers are much more likely, especially colon cancer. People with ...

A bleak future

Columns

In January, the world’s biggest toy fair took place in Nuremberg, Germany. The event focused on toys equipped with artificial intelligence (AI): fluffy robots that recognize faces, gestures, and objects; race cars that can be tuned up with AI’s help; and humanoid robots to be built and programmed at home. Toys like these increasingly find their way into stores and are designed to learn about the child’s individual preferences and to assist with solving tasks. Advocates for data protection are concerned that if connected to the internet, these toys will create a detailed profile of ...

The essential mind: Why we must restore the library at KCSD

Letters to the editor

Fred Bucheit Mill Hall How many people are aware that they took the library out of our school? A school without a library is a body without a mind. To deprive children of books is to fulfill the book-burner’s fondest dream: the beginning of mass mind control. When we remove a child’s access to diverse literature, we allow a “cult leader” mentality to take over, telling them not just what to think, but how to think. Book deprivation is the antithesis of intellectual freedom. An uninformed mind is easily manipulated, becoming a pawn of the state. While some argue that ...

We can’t protect what we don’t understand: The case of eastern golden eagles

Columns

There’s a special story unfolding at Bernheim Forest and Arboretum in Kentucky, where eastern golden eagles have made their winter home. Scientists have been tracking golden eagles since the 1970s, but the first known pair to be tracked simultaneously in eastern North America was at Bernheim. It all began with Harper, a male golden eagle that was successfully captured and equipped with a transmitter in 2015. Four winters later, Harper’s mate was also fitted with a solar-powered GPS tracking device. They named her Athena. As part of the Eastern Golden Eagle Working Group, ...